[Smiley90]

Anyone know the level range for when all the races can meet up? Thinking of making a sylvari class while others are going for charr Just don't want to kind of solo for too long

Right after tutorial, so..... level 2, I suppose?

[FutureZombie]

Anyone know the level range for when all the races can meet up? Thinking of making a sylvari class while others are going for charr Just don't want to kind of solo for too long

Level 2. Just run to the Asura gate in your home city after you complete the tutorial and you can teleport to any of the other cities.

[Jira]

Melee already has higher damage than ranged. The issue is combat information being lost on its way from the game to the player. This includes big hit tells, conditions, boons and range.

I confused...the big tells from mobs are already there and they look like a yellowish wind effect that's universal across all mobs.

[etiolate]

I confused...the big tells from mobs are already there and they look like a yellowish wind effect that's universal across all mobs.

I've never noticed any yellow wind effect. I'll try to find it in some videos.

[Smiley90]

Your spot in the upcoming Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Event has been reserved! This Beta Weekend Event begins Friday, June 8, at noon PDT (GMT -7) and ends Sunday, June 10, at 11:59 p.m. PDT (GMT -7). If this is your first Guild Wars 2 beta, visit https://account.guildwars2.com/download to download the client. To log in, use the same account name and password that you created when you registered your Guild Wars 2 account. Participants of previous events may be able to simply run and patch their existing client. We recommend that you begin pre-loading the client as soon as possible, periodically checking for updates, so you're ready to start playing when the event begins. Visit our Beta Forums at http://forum.guildwars2.com for more information about the beta event itself, using the same log-in credentials mentioned above. Please note that you will only be able to browse the forums for now; commenting and posting will be enabled when the Beta Weekend Event begins. If you have issues installing or logging into the game client, please visit http://support.guildwars2.com. We'll see you in-game! The Guild Wars 2 Team

I've known it for a few days now but still... -clapping hands jumping up and down in excitement-

[RepairmanJack]

I've known it for a few days now but still... -clapping hands jumping up and down in excitement-

I'm hoping the emails going out today means we might get a blog post about the beta changes later today.

[Jayge]

Maaaaaaaaaan, the worst possible weekend for this got picked. My girlfriend is coming down here on Thursday or Friday, my sister is hosting her own god-forsaken prom at our house on Sunday night... shit.

Aside from the fact that I'm underage, I generally think alcohol is gross and don't see myself drinking while gaming, if ever. But yeah, people have tried to argue with me about this in other threads so just don't ask about it ;_;

I'm just going to throw this out there: on the last weekend's Saturday night at 2 AM I threw back a few rum-and-cokes and discovered a jumping puzzle, which I was one of only two people to be able to complete (I threw out random drunken phrases of derision and encouragement from the final platform for a while waiting for a partner to take on the two goons) and it was fun as all hell even if the reward sucked. I wouldn't advocate for doing it often, but drunken gaming can be very entertaining.

[Trey]

Yo I just want to see the GW2 logo and the Mortal Kombat logo face off.

[Jira]

http://www.twitch.tv/pcgamer

pc gamer is streaming a press build and it seems the tier system for skills is like this:

spend x amount of points to unlock the 2nd tier of skills and so on.

Also, he got a PM from someone at ANet saying there will be a new zone in BWE2.

Dodge bar is above the health bubble now and boons/conditions are where the dodge bar was. Boons/conditions also now have a timer on them where a white outline moves clockwise from the top center point of the icon around to tell time.

Oh and keybind modifiers are working.

[RepairmanJack]

http://www.twitch.tv/pcgamer pc gamer is streaming a press build and it seems the tier system for skills is like this: spend x amount of points to unlock the 2nd tier of skills and so on. Also, he got a PM from someone at ANet saying there will be a new zone in BWE2. Dodge bar is above the health bubble now and boons/conditions are where the dodge bar was. Boons/conditions also now have a timer on them where a white outline moves clockwise from the top center point of the icon around to tell time. Oh and keybind modifiers are working.

So....exactly like the leak had said. :/ Not a good thing.

Good to hear about new zones....wonder where those will be?

That stream lagging like crazy or is it just me?

Edit:Wow, people are asking about skilled traits and the dude goes on to talk about skills....lol

[Jira]

So....exactly like the leak had said. :/ Not a good thing. Good to hear about new zones....wonder where those will be? That stream lagging like crazy or is it just me?

It's essentially rendering twice, they said they're doing direct capture and streaming at the same time cause their streaming service is down.

[Kos Luftar]

PCGamer guy just terrible or is it just because he is also looking at the chat room and also talking at the same time?

[Jira]

PCGamer guy just terrible or is it just because he is also looking at the chat room and also talking at the same time?

Both. I never saw him dodge and he'd sit there getting beat with a full DS bar.

[RepairmanJack]

It's essentially rendering twice, they said they're doing direct capture and streaming at the same time cause their streaming service is down.

Gotcha. Sucks, but I guess it is only for 10 minutes...

Loving the new placement of the dodge bar.

[Jira]

That was fucking intense.

[gunbo13]

pc gamer is streaming a press build and it seems the tier system for skills is like this: spend x amount of points to unlock the 2nd tier of skills and so on.

Rage

[Ferrio]

http://www.twitch.tv/pcgamer pc gamer is streaming a press build and it seems the tier system for skills is like this: spend x amount of points to unlock the 2nd tier of skills and so on. Also, he got a PM from someone at ANet saying there will be a new zone in BWE2. Dodge bar is above the health bubble now and boons/conditions are where the dodge bar was. Boons/conditions also now have a timer on them where a white outline moves clockwise from the top center point of the icon around to tell time. Oh and keybind modifiers are working.

UGH. Let's take away stuff that makes the game unique. Using points to unlock tiers, wow hasn't been done before!

[Jira]

I'm unsure as to why they did the whole tier thing. I'm guessing it helps them balance things out so they generally know what people are using at certain level ranges?

[RepairmanJack]

I'm unsure as to why they did the whole tier thing. I'm guessing it helps them balance things out so they generally know what people are using at certain level ranges?

I really feel like it was a kneejerk reaction to counter all of the glass cannon builds that were so popular in the first beta.

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

Hasn't the trait system always been put in enough points to get the next major trait/tier?

Pretty sure that's how it was in the last BWE.

[Ferrio]

Well I know what I'm saying in every single comment box come this beta. I hope you guys do as well.

[TheYanger]

Why rage over it? I always wondered how they intended to balance the traits before, this method makes more sense. They can make higher level traits more powerful and such now too.

Hasn't the trait system always been put in enough points to get the next major trait/tier? Pretty sure that's how it was in the last BWE.

It used to be that you could use all of the major traits in any of the unlocked major trait slots, now it's like tier 1 major traits, tier 2 major traits, etc.

[Jira]

Traits are also now tiered, you get I THINK 6 in Adept, 10 in Master in all 12 in Grandmaster.

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

I see. Can someone explain to me why this is a bad thing?

[Jira]

Why rage over it? I always wondered how they intended to balance the traits before, this method makes more sense. They can make higher level traits more powerful and such now too. It used to be that you could use all of the major traits in any of the unlocked major trait slots, now it's like tier 1 major traits, tier 2 major traits, etc.

I think it's more like you have these ones at the start now here's some new ones in addition and finally here's the last of them so you now have access to all traits.

[Ashodin]

Oh so the builds are going to be a little more restrictive than before? Interesting.

[Ferrio]

Oh so the builds are going to be a little more restrictive than before? Interesting.

And that's why it's a bad thing.

[Jira]

I see. Can someone explain to me why this is a bad thing?

It does limit the initial customization you can have for your character, eventually it'll even itself out as you level, but it's all for the sake of balance so I'm not sure if it's a bad thing or not without trying it.

[etiolate]

http://www.twitch.tv/pcgamer pc gamer is streaming a press build and it seems the tier system for skills is like this: spend x amount of points to unlock the 2nd tier of skills and so on. Also, he got a PM from someone at ANet saying there will be a new zone in BWE2. Dodge bar is above the health bubble now and boons/conditions are where the dodge bar was. Boons/conditions also now have a timer on them where a white outline moves clockwise from the top center point of the icon around to tell time. Oh and keybind modifiers are working.

Yeah, as far as leveling goes, it seems people are getting locked out of major traits. It's not known yet if the whole thing opens up at 80 or not, but if it doesn't then this is a bad move and a very bad sign for PvP. If they remain tier locked at 80, it's going ot remind everyone of how GW1 PvP died.

I am not sure how I feel about the tiered skills. I liked being able to get any skill I wanted if I had one in particular I wanted to try out. All I had to worry about was building up the skill points. Not sure why they are reducing choice from the leveling process.

It also looked like there were more elites on his Necro skill list.

[Ashodin]

Hmmm.. it's possible that ArenaNet is having trouble with people choosing specific specs instead of working from the viewpoint of playstyle? Not too sure.

[Vano]

Holy shit i love the new condition/boon/etc timer.

[RepairmanJack]

I see. Can someone explain to me why this is a bad thing?

This.

Oh so the builds are going to be a little more restrictive than before? Interesting.

The system before was great because it was wide open and could allow the players to figure out their own balance to the builds. Now it's more restrictive and we will probably see far more straight forward builds that are more alike and far less balanced out builds.

[Jira]

Hmmm.. it's possible that ArenaNet is having trouble with people choosing specific specs instead of working from the viewpoint of playstyle? Not too sure.

That or people are having trouble understanding the system without any direction as to what they can or can't choose? They may have gotten too much feedback saying I don't know how to build my character without any direction.

[etiolate]

Balancing shouldn't come at the expense of player choice. At least not to the point that they're doing here. It's developer laziness. Restrict choice and punish creative players because you're afraid of some slight advantages needing tweaking? The community does not want that.

[gunbo13]

I really feel like it was a kneejerk reaction to counter all of the glass cannon builds that were so popular in the first beta.

Yes

If they remain tier locked at 80, it's going ot remind everyone of how GW1 PvP died.

Yes

It's less balance then "control." You are given a huge variety of options but are slapped on the wrist if you break away from the norm. Balancing would be pitting the builds of the original system against each other to ensure none are overpowered. Much like a fighting game where you have to deal with what you provide the players. ANET is not balancing anything. They are controlling your options eliminating the use. It's akin to if Ryu had an overpowered fireball in SF so you remove the QCF inputs instead of altering the damage.

It's a horrible practice and I am for once not exaggerating.

[etiolate]

The zone outside Lion's Arch will be playable in next BWE. I like that they moved the boons and conditions. I'd increase the endurance bar a bit for play.

[TheYanger]

Balancing shouldn't come at the expense of player choice. At least not to the point that they're doing here. It's developer laziness. Restrict choice and punish creative players because you're afraid of some slight advantages needing tweaking? The community does not want that.

Hyperbole much? You have a TON of choice. Balance should come before anything except basic gameplay fun when you're talking about attempting to make a fair competitive pvp environment. All this does is allow them to make some traits more powerful without fear of people making builds that are idiotic 10 10 10 10 10 or something ridiculous and picking all of the best ones. This gives them more flexibility to make INTERESTING traits, because if you put something powerful as a tier 3, it's still a compelling decision compared to making all of them neutered so that they're not too strong for only 10 points.

I'm shocked at how ridiculous some of the outrage is over such a little thing. You still have just as many traits in each line, you have marginally less build diversity, in a game that offered probably millions of different builds in the first place. God forbid it only offer hundreds of thousands instead.

[Jira]

Balancing shouldn't come at the expense of player choice. At least not to the point that they're doing here. It's developer laziness. Restrict choice and punish creative players because you're afraid of some slight advantages needing tweaking? The community does not want that.

I don't disagree. In regards to Traits your choices have been cut down a bit if you have anything less than 30 points in a line. Skills wise in the end it'll all be back to normal at 80 as it exits the tiered funnel and you have access to all skills. The only issue here is the additional Traits per tier.

[Ashodin]

Hmm, from what I see, making tiered skills allows them to buff/nerf abilities since they're not all on the same tier, and make some incredibly flashy and powerful moves. It's kind of injecting some WoW mentality into the formula (talent tree-ish type thing).

I also have the feeling that it promotes people looking for skills that fit their playstyle in each tier, but will have the general feeling of "you must take these skills while leveling in this tier", which can be terribad.

[VanillaCakeIsBurning]

So tiered traits will only really affect normal play as opposed to level 80 PVP where everything is unlocked?

I guess I can see how this restricts build possibilities in 80 PVP as you can't choose what are now considered say Tier 3 traits where as before you could choose any combination of traits.

spend x amount of points to unlock the 2nd tier of skills and so on.

Just noticed this though and I can't say I like it. I liked being able to unlock any skill I wanted as I progressed.

What's the point of restricting skills behind Tiers in PvE? I don't think there's enough skills per class to warrant such a thing.

[Ferrio]

Hmm, from what I see, making tiered skills allows them to buff/nerf abilities since they're not all on the same tier, and make some incredibly flashy and powerful moves. It's kind of injecting some WoW mentality into the formula (talent tree-ish type thin).

Ya, just what I was looking forward to in my Guild Wars 2 experience....

[Ashodin]

Ya, just what I was looking forward to in my Guild Wars 2 experience....

Not particularly liking it either. Now a certain build I want to roll with before hand won't be possible until I reach level 80. Isn't that just LOVELY?

[Ferrio]

Times like this wish I had a twitter account to rant at them.

[TheYanger]

Not particularly liking it either. Now a certain build I want to roll with before hand won't be possible until I reach level 80. Isn't that just LOVELY?

Builds weren't possible until level 80 before either.

Ya, just what I was looking forward to in my Guild Wars 2 experience....

Oh give me a break. That's like saying because you use WSAD to move like wow the game is bad. Clearly wow has never done anything right and no game should have anything remotely similar to it (hint, traits are still not like wow talents at all).


You guys aren't getting it, you claim just 'balance them' like it's A) easy, or B) somehow better. Balancing all...idk 480? traits against each other completely equally is just going to result in neutered and boring traits, and the vast majority were sort of that way. Having traits tiered and balancing around people having X tier 1, X tier 2, and X tier 3 traits lets them actually just balance the traits of each tier against each other, much more realistic. They don't have to weigh every single trait in every line against every other trait in every line. You might say it's easy, but it's not, it's a pipe dream, that kind of balance cannot exist without them being horrifically boring or weak.

Give me more powerful yet balanced traits any day over boring but diverse ones.

[Hasardeur]

it's not exactly a positive change, but at least you'll still have full choice over your skill and traits at max level, right? And structured PvP is untouched by this anyway.

also, I get the feeling GW2 might not be released before Fall after all

[gunbo13]

You guys aren't getting it, you claim just 'balance them' like it's A) easy, or B) somehow better. Balancing all...idk 480? traits against each other completely equally is just going to result in neutered and boring traits, and the vast majority were sort of that way. Having traits tiered and balancing around people having X tier 1, X tier 2, and X tier 3 traits lets them actually just balance the traits of each tier against each other, much more realistic. They don't have to weigh every single trait in every line against every other trait in every line. You might say it's easy, but it's not, it's a pipe dream, that kind of balance cannot exist without them being horrifically boring or weak.

Boring traits? You can't be serious... What you are describing is the most hack method possible for "balancing" a game, if you can even call it that. And you're selectively eliminating "boring" traits that you are only creating on theory. It's also funny how you are saying it is a pipe dream when that is what ANET did EXACTLY with GW1.

[Jira]

it's not exactly a positive change, but at least you'll still have full choice over your skill and traits at max level, right? And structured PvP is untouched by this anyway.

You'll have full control over Skills at 80 just like before, but Traits will still have a slight limiting factor where the amount of Traits you have access to in any given line is dependent entirely upon how many points you've put into it. Only with 30 points will you gain access to every Trait in a given line.

[Ferrio]

it's not exactly a positive change, but at least you'll still have full choice over your skill and traits at max level, right? And structured PvP is untouched by this anyway.

The way I'm reading it, no. Only if you've put plunked in enough points into that tree will you have them all unlocked. If you've put say 10 points or whatever it is to unlock the first trait pick, you only get to pick from that small list.

Meaning the lvl 80 builds I was running in beta before are potentially impossible now.

[TheYanger]

Boring traits? You can't be serious... What you are describing is the most hack method possible for "balancing" a game, if you can even call it that. And you're selectively eliminating "boring" traits that you are only creating on theory. It's also funny how you are saying it is a pipe dream when that is what ANET did EXACTLY with GW1.

GW1 wasn't balanced in that way at ALL. are you kidding me? When there are tons of useless skills/traits and you have free reign, it is MORE limiting than when there are ACTUAL balanced traits or skills and you have less of them available.

Simply having lots of choices doesn't mean it's balanced, it might mean CLASSES are balanced, but it can harm your realistic trait choices because there are going to be more clear winner builds. This is pretty much always going to happen, but it's easier to avoid with the tiered traits, and they can make traits stronger/more fun while doing it.

The way I'm reading it, no. Only if you've put plunked in enough points into that tree will you have them all unlocked. If you've put say 10 points or whatever it is to unlock the first trait pick, you only get to pick from that small list. Meaning the lvl 80 builds I was running in beta before are potentially impossible now.

Ahh ok, so you're upset that your old build won't work? It's beta. You'll live.


I wonder how you guys would take it if it went live the old way and they 'just balanced' them like you want. They'd be changing/nerfing traits on a constant basis, forcing you to keep switching builds and find the new FOTM every time anyway.

This shit is all semantics, at the end of the day no matter what they do there are going to be good builds and bad builds, and good builds are going to be semi-limited in number. They can encourage MORE good builds this way than the old way, they can make traits more fun and meaningful since they don't have to assume 10 points buys you any trait in the game. At the end of the day this is going to have 0 impact on how you play the game, but it's going to have large impacts on how they can balance it.

[Vano]

Traits are also now tiered, you get I THINK 6 in Adept, 10 in Master in all 12 in Grandmaster.

Its the same as in the BWE1 too, only thing is that there are few Adept Major Trait now.

edit: Oh i think i understand now, as it now in Adept there is 6 unique ones and in Master/Grandmaster there are different ones and not like in BWE1 that every Major is the same to choose regardless rank (Adept,Master,GM)

Some pictures for those who missed it:

Traits:

Skills:

VOD:
http://www.twitch.tv/pcgamer/b/320044809